Curated blockchain and cryptocurrency news – Week 44

Welcome back to our weekly series where we cover the most important news that happened in the blockchain world. This article goes from October 30th all the way to November 7th, so a couple of days longer than usual. A lot of important events happened this past week, so let’s get right to the point.

October 30th

Reuters celebrates Bitcoin’s 10th birthday

One decade after publishing the whitepaper, Satoshi Nakamoto (whoever s/he might be) is most likely the happiest person in the world. What parent wouldn’t be satisfied with their child drastically changing the world? Reuters is celebrating the release of the whitepaper by providing us with a short list of the most important Bitcoin milestones.

October 31st

Bank of America registers a patent for private key safeguarding

In the onslaught of the patent race, BoA is making sure that they are in the lead, by claiming a stake in the technological advances with every step they make. First issued on September 16th, 2016, and made public on the 30th of October, this latest discovered patent showcases the bank’s interest in safeguarding private keys and enabling remote authentication.

This strongly suggests that the bank is moving in the direction that is betting on a mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies and will most likely be a part of the cornerstone services they would offer to future customers. Private keys are notoriously difficult to keep safe, as they are required to make transactions, so having a service like this one, can provide the bank’s crypto customers to access and transact freely, without a worry in their mind.

Other news:

November 1st

CryptoKitties raises an additional $15 million in investments

According to technology publisher Inverse, CryptoKitties the most popular blockchain-based collectible game has attracted a couple of different big players in the startup world. Indeed, Venrock, Samsung Next, and GV together invested $15 million in the company, showcasing a strong belief in the future of blockchain and gaming.

Other news:

November 2nd

According to Space.com, Planetary Resources Inc. got acquired by ConsenSys in an asset-backed transaction. The full details of the transactions are not available to the public. The whole idea of a blockchain company acquiring a space mining enterprise is very interesting and could be a source of information in regards to the future plans of ConsenSys. Pretty soon we will have real cryptonauts.

November 3rd

According to CCN, Overstock’s venture capital arm, Medici Venture has signed a second agreement with the government of Rwanda. This agreement moves forward their collaboration to transfer the country’s land registers on a blockchain. While western countries are taking it slow with blockchain adoption, African governments are spearheading forward with leveraging the latest technologies of the 21st century.

Other news:

November 4th

IBM patents blockchain system to protect AR users from arriving at undesirable locations

According to CoinTelegraph, after analyzing the company’s patent registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, IBM is working on a solution that would protect users of Augmented Reality applications from arriving at unwanted, and possibly dangerous locations. Furthermore, their solution will enable a trustworthy AR world to coexist with reality. According to TheNextWeb, the system is flawed and dangerous.

Other news:

November 5th

Reliance Industries performs a “live” trade with Tricon Energy

According to CoinDesk, through the help of banking giants HSBC India and ING Brussels, Reliance Industries performed the first finance trade deal using the enterprise blockchain platform Corda. Incorporated in the arrangement was the usual letter of credit associated with trade deals such as this one, except this time it was recorded on a blockchain lowering the time requirements from 7 days down to just one day.

Other News:

November 6th

Blockchain.com holds $125M XLM airdrop

Starting November 6th, according to TechCrunch, Blockchain.com will holdthe largest consumer-level airdrop of a total of $125M worth of XLM. The company is doing this airdrop to promote cryptocurrency adoption and to get people personally acquainted with the ecosystem. To take advantage, you will need a blockchain.com wallet, and inside the wallet’s “Stellar” section you can register for the airdrop.

November 7th

Salesforce to track email spam using blockchain

The software giant Salesforce has won a patent race for claiming this solution. According to CoinDesk, the solution promises to provide a better experience for users when compared to existing technologies. The blockchain solution will track the email using hash sequences across its entire path, and track any changes made along the way, identifying malicious email servers that could in theory abuse the communication.

Whether this system becomes mainstream, time will show, but for now, we have to do with what we got. Checking your spam folder for important emails is a nuisance that we would all love to leave behind.

This wraps up our list of news surfacing in week 44. As always, share your opinions about the most interesting ones or link those stories we might have missed in our collections, which you found interesting and noteworthy over the week. You can also send us suggestions of stories to include in the next list if you find something interesting over the next days.

Facebook Comments

Events

Inside Fintech with Blockchain Agenda • Nov. 29-30, 2018 Inside Fintech Conference & Expo explores Fintech 3.0, including Blockchain technology and other decentralized solutions for financial processes, and its impact on the global financial ecosystem. Hear from the finance industry’s most forward thinking individuals as they seek to leverage advances in technology to improve payments, investment strategies, mobile banking, navigate the world of regulation, and more. We’ll explore a unique chemistry between Fintech entrepreneurs, investors, bankers, and governments across Asia and the rest of the world.Blockchain World Forum Beijing • October 25-27, 2018 An event presented in a series of top-level keynotes, interactive panel discussions and solution-based case studies with a focus on learning and building partnerships in the emerging Blockchain space, BlockChain World Forum will explore the industries that are set to be disrupted the most by this new technology, including; legal sectors, financial services, insurance, energy, music, government, real estate and more.Interested in listing your event here? Contact Us!